Improvement in sucker-rod adjusters



W. OURTIS. `sucker-Rud Adjuster.

Patented Oct. 30, 1877.

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w w& L WM w w M VS-IL'LIAM HJGTBTIS, oF OL'GITZENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOHIMSELF nn menenn'. AR OR DF SAME PLAE.

- IyPBovEM-- -T NgsocKER-Rob ADJUSTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N'o,'-l9,6,564, datedOctober 30, 1877; application filed i' September 22, 1877 To all whom itmay 'conccm: A a e Be it known that I, WILLIAM H; CURTIS, of

Oil-City, coimtyof Venango, 'State of Pennsylvania, have inventcd ordiscovered a new and useful Improvement in Sucker-Rod Adjusters orEqualizers and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,concise, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this speciicaton, in which-like'letters indicating like parts- I Figure l is a perspective View of myimproved sucker-rod adjuster as applied to the walking-beam of anoil-well pump. Fig. 2

-shows a cross-section of the same through the 4 line w x, Fig.

3. Fig. 3 shows a Vertical section, and Fig. 4 is an'enlarged View ofthe cross-section shown in Fig. 2.

My improvement relates to a sucker-rod adjuster, which is jointed orpivoted to the walking-beam of the pump by means of a ball-andsocketjoint, the polished rod being clamped to the adjuster by means ofbinding-screws.

In the' drawings, A represents the supporting or base plate of myimproved adjuster, which may be secured to the end of the walking-beamon'its upper side or face, in any convenient way, as by the bolts d'.

G is the upper plate or cap, which rests upon the plate A, and may beSecured thereto by bolts d passing through both plates. These plates Aand G are recessed on their adjacent i faces, so that together they forma socket for inclosing a ball, a, as shown in Fig. 3, and thus form theordinary ball-and-socket joint. I

A slot or opening, b, is also made from the front edge of the plate A tothe socket-recess,

through which the rod c' may be passed, as

presently described; v and in order to make the plate G readilyremovable, so as to release the inclosed ball a, I prefer to makeopenings or slots e e' to the bolt-holes. Hooks i z" are thus formed,opening on opposite sides of the arms of the plate, and by turning theplate, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2, the hooks may be released fromor caused to engage with the bolts d at pleasure.

'The outer openings from the socket-recess in the plates Aand C shouldbe large enough to permit the parts connected with or passing throughthe ball some range of motion.

- The head-piece' consists of the ball a and sleeve or stem a'. Theseparts constitute one piece. The ball a is made to fit the socket formedby the two plates A and C, and the sleeve or sten a' is made ofsufficient length to furnish a good hearing-surface for clamping theinclosed rod c. This rod is usually polisled, so as to work through astuffing-box, and in order to clamp it securely Imake a polygonal holelon gitudinally through the ball and sleeve of about the size of the rodc. Clampngor binding screws s work through the wall of the sleeve andbind the rod c in the desired position of adjustment.

The difculty which has heretofore attended the clamping of sucker-rodsby set-screws has arisen from the fact that a round hole, seat, orsocket has been used in which the rod was bound, and as, in practice,the rod is always a little smaller than such hole, the rod is clamped ontwo sides only, and as it is difficult to get these bearings perfectlytrue, the rod will soon work loose. By making the hole which surroundsthe rod of several sides instead of round, and placing thebinding-screws opposite an angle between the sides, I secure at leastthree bearings, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and secure a betterconnection than can be done under the same conditions with a round hole.

In operation, the cap C is placed upon the upper half of the ball a andthe screws s put in place. This ball and sleeve is then put upon the rodc, as shown in the drawing, and is securely clamped to the same at suchpoint on the rod that, when the several parts are in place, the pistonor sucker on the lower end of the rod shall be at the proper'working-point in the well.

In order now to make connection with the plate A and beam B, I pass therod c, by a lateral movement, through the slot b, and seat the ball a inthe socket in the plate A. The cap C is then turned until the hooks M'engage the bolts d on the under side of the nuts, when the connectionwill be complete.

If it is desired at any time to clamp the rod c at some different point,it may be done by simply releasing the screws s, and moving the rod upor down within the sleeve to the desired point.

By unloeking the cap C from the bolts d, as described, the rod c andattached devices may be removed from the plate A through the opening b,at pleasure.

By making use of a ball-and-socket joint at the point of connection withthe walking-beam, I provide for the irregular movement of thewalking-beam better than can be done with joints which are movable onlyin one plane;

I claim herein as my invention- 1. The combination of rod c, head orsleeve a a', having a polygonal hole through the same for the receptionof the rod, and oneor more bindng-screws for clamping the rod,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of plates A and. C, of suitable form for attachmentto a walkingbeam, and properly recessed for the reception of aperforated ball, substantially as set forth. 3. A base-plate reeessed onone side, in combination with a detaehable top plate, a ball-and-socketjoint, and piston-rod, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM H. CUETIS. Witnesses:

J. J. Mcoonmex, CLAUDIUS L. PARKER.

